December 2023 Board Meeting Minutes and Recording

The audio recording and the director's presentation of the December 2023 Board Meeting can be accessed here:

December 2023 Board Meeting Recording.mp3

December 2023 Board Meeting Presentation - Director's Report

December 2023 Board Meeting Presentation - SIR Past and Prospective Visitor Profile

Please find the meeting minutes below:
Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau
Board of Directors Meeting
December 18, 2023 – 2:00 p.m.
Jefferson-Madison Regional Library - Central Branch

PRESENT: Cecil Banks, Russ Cronberg, Chris Engel, Emily Kilroy, Bea LaPisto-Kirtley, Jay Pun, Gabe Silver, Danny Shea, Juandiego Wade, John Wharton

ABSENT: Shaun Jenkins, Sheldon Johnson, Susan Krischel, Jennifer Lyon, Natalie Masri

ALSO ATTENDING: Courtney Cacatian, Lauren Bohdan, Rebecca Ivins, Rachel Yost, Amaya Mitchell

1. CALL TO ORDER

Chair Gabe Silver called the meeting to order at 2:05 PM.

a. Roll Call: Gabe invited Lauren Bohdan to perform the roll call.

b. Consent Agenda: Gabe asked for input on the consent agenda. A motion was made to approve the October and November meeting minutes and financial statement. The minutes and financial statement were approved, and the consent agenda was passed.

c. Motion to Appoint Interim Chair: Gabe made a motion to appoint an Interim Chair for the time being as he will be ending his term on the CACVB Board at the end of the year. The appointment of Vice Chair Bea LaPisto-Kirtley to the Interim Chair position was voted on by present board members. All voted in favor. The motion passed and Bea took leadership of the current board meeting.

d. Director's Report: Bea invited Courtney Cacatian to present the Director's Report. Courtney noted that the presentation had been sent to the board to review on their own, and that the group would be utilizing the majority of the meeting time to view the SIR Prospective and Past Visitor Survey Results Presentation. Courtney introduced Rachel Yost from SIR, who would be presenting and providing insight.

e. SIR Presentation: Rachel presented key metrics and past and prospective visitor sentiment on Charlottesville and Albemarle County. The information was gathered over a two week period in October and November with 404 past visitors surveyed, and 397 prospective visitors who were familiar with Charlottesville and had not visited in the last 10 years surveyed.

f. Post-Presentation Discussion: A discussion ensued between the members of the board where questions were directed to Rachel for clarification on certain terms and and metrics and how they were found. One of the main points that the group would like further definition on was the areas of affordability, and what this means to different income scales, an additional breakout of AirBNB and similar rentals, linking of positive and negative comments of the area to different feeder markets, and a summary of main themes from prior meetings that were had between SIR and key stakeholders.

g. Public Comment: No Public Comment.

h. Board Announcements: Chris Engel spoke about the 2023 NCAA Cross Country National Championships that were hosted at Panorama Farms in November. The spectator participation was very large and the event looked great on the community. Russ Cronberg spoke on the CACVB sponsorship of the Winter Wander event at the Boar's Head Resort, and how it has been performing. Russ sees this as a great way to attract visitors in winter months when visitation is commonly lower than other seasons. Jay Pun spoke on two events that were memorable for him for the area in the Two Up, Wine Down event put on by Oenoverse at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center with distinctions in inclusivity in the wine industry, and the Dave Matthews Band performances at John Paul Jones Arena over a single weekend. This seemed to bring music lovers from all over the area to spend a couple of days in Charlottesville. Chris Engel followed up that hotel rates were $500 a night during the Dave Matthews Band concert weekend. Gabe Silver spoke on the addition of the wood-fired sauna and river cold plunge to the offerings at Rivanna River Company and how it has been received very well in its first months. It was also highlighted as another great opportunity for additional offerings to boost visitation during the slower winter months. A discussion on the inconsistency of winter weather in the area and its effects on visitation.

Interim Chair Bea LaPisto-Kirtley adjourned the meeting at 3:44 PM.